Katy Perry Roar Contest: Lakewood High School Makes Finals (Video)

Katy Perry announced back in September on Good Morning America that she was holding a Roar lip dub contest which would consist of high schools across the country creating two minute videos to enter into the competition. Once Perry put the word out, nearly 1,000 videos came streaming in from 44 US states. Each video featured motivational messages and followed the empowering theme of the song. One of the first entries, from Lakewood High School, made the finals.

Out of all the entries, which used the contest as an excuse to address teenage issues like bullying, were posted on YouTube for the enjoyment of everyone. Amazingly, out of all those entrants, Perry has come up with five finalists. That’s a lot of roaring!

The 28 year-old performer has said that she was inspired by the effort as well as the creativity presented by all of the entries. She said that it was “exciting” to see the variety of the videos and she posted on the GMA website that she was “encouraged” by all the schools who showed so much “love and support.” She also posted that she could not wait to pick the winning video.

The winner of the contest will be picked and announced on Good Morning America the morning of Oct 18. The school that wins will be part of the singer’s live birthday concert on Oct 25.

On September 28, the Las Vegas Guardian Express wrote an article about the Lakewood High School’s video from Colorado. The school’s entry had caught Katy Perry’s eye and she even tweeted about the enthusiastic entry. The video, although longer than the mandatory two minutes, has garnered a lot of attention on YouTube. It now has over 239,000 views and rising.

The announcement that Lakewood High School made the finals in the Katy Perry Roar lip dub contest, will come as no surprise to anyone who has seen the entry.

The video was apparently shot in one continuous shot and featured over 2,000 students and high school faculty members. It was organized over the school’s homecoming week and made on “Spirit Day.” The entry has representatives from every area in a typical high school, like the drama group, glee club, cheerleaders et al.

Viewers watch the progress of the school’s tiger mascot as it moves through the school and out onto the football field. It was produced and directed by Courtney Coddington with fellow student Gavin Rudy who plans to become a filmmaker. The entire school signed up to take part in the lip dub contest.

The two students have said that if their video wins, they intend to use the live concert as a fundraiser for flood relief in the state.

Other finalists include: Verrado High School from Arizona; Spanish Springs High School from Nevada; Cooper High School from Texas; and Pickerington High School Central from Ohio. All the schools, with the apparent exception of Cooper High School from Abilene in Texas, have their entries posted on YouTube.

Out of the five finalists, Spanish Springs and Verrado have around 150,000 views each with the remaining entries having garnered under 100,000 views each.

Lakewood High School is the frontrunner in the contest and if Katy Perry’s initial reaction is anything to go by, it may be the clear favorite to win. In spite of the fact that they went over the mandatory two minute limit, the video is entirely infectious. It is unusual to see that many young people so full of enthusiasm.

That enthusiastic participation from the Colorado students, combined with the empowering catchy tune and lyrics of Katy Perry’s Roar makes it perfectly clear why Lakewood High School made the contest finals. We’ve posted the video below for your viewing pleasure. Watch it and see if you think it is an epic win.